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Introduction –
There are just a handful of actors on OTT platform who can paint ordinary films with their magical performance and change it into something meaningful. Sayani Gupta does this to Single Jhumka. The title and the theme reminded us of Manto’s famous short story “Ulti Shalwar”. While the story here revolves around a missing jhumka, in Manto’s epic literary piece, it is the Shalwar, worn inside out that hooks the readers.
Synopsis –
Adeeb Rais, writer and director does well with the opening scene. Ashima is standing on the parapet, watching the sea, and in deep thoughts. The location is Marine Drive, a place known to revive Mojo in human lives, and offer relief from unpredictable travails of living in a big city like Mumbai.
Ashima calls up Suhail ( Bhuvan Arora ), her fiancé, and says she wants to catch up urgently. Suhail agrees and the two meet in Zen Cafe. Suhail peers at her closely. Ashima is wearing just one jhumka ( Interestingly, gifted by Suhail himself ). When questioned she says she misplaced it. And then she reveals that she slept with another man, an artist (Priyanshu Painyuli ) from her theatre group. It is obvious that Ashima lost it while making love. That she also cheated in spite of being in a relationship is underplayed which seems a bit surprising. In fact, Ashima sounded quite casual about the whole affair.
Ashima does find the jhumka, and also calls up Suhail. Does Suhail forgive her? Does she have a reason for the unfaithful act? Check out the short film to find the answers.
Analysis –
The Single Jhumka is about today’s youth, the new generation folks locked in shaky relationships and how small differences or dissatisfaction forces them to compromise, seeking sexual respite being one of them. As mentioned earlier, the story is shallow, but the dialogs and performances are spot on. What turned us thoughtful was the lack of regret in Ashima’s behavior, her thoughts. Agreed, sometimes we do end up at a crossroad of a relationship but justifying it with sexual encounters, or spontaneous switch for different partner is a little too scary. The question is; do couples need to compromise because their partners fail to provide quality time?
Year of Release – 2021 | Director – Adeeb Rais | Writer – Adeeb Rais | Running Time – 23 Minutes | Availability – Amazon Mini TV